Selma Öncel

Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire: confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis with Turkish samples

AIM This study is a report of an investigation of the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire. BACKGROUND Cultural, social and family environments influence womens beliefs about and attitudes towards menstruation. Awareness of these beliefs and/or attitudes and their cultural origins is necessary to understand women and their reactions to menstruation when offering health care. Although the Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire has been used in several studies, the psychometric properties of the Turkish version have not been investigated. METHODS Confirmatory factor analyses were carried out with two different samples - high school (n = 650) and undergraduate university students (n = 569) - in Turkey in the spring semester of 2006. Exploratory factor analyses were then used to modify the factor structure. RESULTS Confirmatory factor analysis did not confirm the factor model reported in the United States of America. However, compared with British and Indian samples, Turkish attitudes showed better fit than both British and Indian samples with comparative fit index values of 0.776 and 0.797 for the high school and university samples respectively. Finally, exploratory factor analysis yielded a 28-item measure for the high school sample and 31-item measure for the university sample, with a 5-factor solution. Reliability estimates of both scales were satisfactory, being 0.73 for the high school and 0.79 for the university sample. CONCLUSION The modified 5-factor Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire could be a useful tool for assessing menstrual attitudes among Turkish high school and university students. The overall score permits comparison with results from earlier studies using the original instrument.

Living with Asthma: An Analysis of Patients' Perspectives

Objectives. To investigate asthmatic patients’ perceptions of their disease. Methods. The study was done with the participation of 23 patients among the asthmatics whose progress is monitored regularly in a university hospital. Phenomenological methodology was used, and the first step was to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. Then, in order to determine their feelings and opinions on the subject of their asthma, each participant was asked to write a letter to answer the following question: “If asthma were a friend of yours, what would you like to say to it in a letter?” Data were analyzed using the continuous comparative method of Colaizzi (1978; “Psychological research as a phenomenologist views it”, in Valle, R. And King, M. (Eds), Existential Phenomenological Alternatives for Psychology, Oxford University Press, New York, NY.). For this purpose, each researcher read the letters separately and identified the important thoughts, and similar statements were classified under the same theme groups. Results. The mean age of the patients was 41.43 ± 6.23 years, and 69.6% of them were female, 73.9% were married, 34.8% were primary school graduates, and 34.7% were civil servants (with no social security problems). The statements of the asthmatics in the study were grouped according to the following themes: “The Most Important Factor in Accepting Asthma Is Time,” “It’s So Hard to Be Asthmatic,” “Being Asthmatic Means Understanding the Value of Life,” “I Don’t Like Asthma, so I Can’t Make Friends with It,” “Learning to Live with Asthma,” “One Day I May Recover from Asthma,” “Feeling Anger,” and “Suffering from Continuous Worry and Fear.” Conclusion. Asthmatic patients need psychosocial support since they believe that there is no certain treatment for asthma, and attacks are inevitable.

Effect of Lifestyle on Quality of Life of Couples Receiving Infertility Treatment

This study investigated the effect of lifestyle on the quality of life among couples undergoing infertility treatment. The research universe consisted of 200 couples undergoing infertility treatment in Akdeniz Universitys Center of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproductive Techniques. The data collection tools the authors used were a personal information form requesting sociodemographic characteristics and history of infertility, the SF-36 Quality of Life Scale, and the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale. This study revealed that the quality of life of the women in the study was lower than that of the men. The authors also found that the couples’ quality of life was reduced by variables such as advanced age, low education level, unemployment status, lower income, long duration of infertility, high body mass index, history of andrological surgery, and previous experience of assisted reproduction techniques three or more times. Last, it was determined that the couples’ quality of life improved as their healthy lifestyle behaviors increased. Demonstrating positive health behavior is likely to improve the quality of life of couples undergoing infertility treatment.

Complementary and alternative approaches used by parents of children with epilepsy on epilepsy management

The aim of this study was to determine the complementary and alternative approaches used by parents of children with epilepsy on epilepsy management. This descriptive study included a total of 304 parents of children with epilepsy aged between 0 and 18years evaluated at the Pediatric Neurology Clinic of Akdeniz University Hospital in Turkey between January and May 2013. Data were collected by using a questionnaire developed by the researchers. It was determined that all the parents use complementary and alternative approaches for their children with epilepsy, and the most common approaches are praying (99.3%); keeping their children away from the effects of smoking (79.8%); feeding their children walnuts (79.6%), butter (59.2%), and bone marrow (58.6%); providing their children with good quality sleep (58.6%); and enabling their children to play games (51%). The approaches commonly applied during seizures include praying (96.2%), comforting their children in their arms and showing affection (55.6%), waiting for seizures to finish at home (45.7%), and laying children on their side (41.1%). Of parents, 98% stated that alternative approaches enable them to control their childs seizures, 100% said that alternative approaches have no adverse effect, and 98.4% stated that they will continue to use these approaches. The childrens approaches to cope with epilepsy included looking after pets (72.7%), listening to music (70.1%), watching television (64.5%), playing games (55.3%), praying (51%), and spending time with friends (48.7%). Most of the approaches used by parents and children with epilepsy for the management of illness are determined to consist of complementary approaches that may contribute to management of epilepsy. Knowing the approaches of parents and children with epilepsy that could adversely affect disease management is important for educating parents and children to avoid these potentially harmful interventions.

Experiences and Attitudes of Nurses Regarding Complementary Health Approaches Used by Themselves and Their Patients.

Nurses’ attitudes and experiences may affect the level of patient exposure to complementary health approaches (CHA), both now and in the future. The purpose of this study was to describe nurses’ experience of CHA and their personal and professional attitudes to the use of CHA. The sample consisted of 220 nurses working at a university hospital in Antalya, Turkey. Data were collected using a questionnaire developed by the researchers. Nurses had a positive attitude toward CHA and reported mixed experiences of CHA for allergies, pain, and stress. This study may contribute to increased awareness of the potentially important role of nurses in delivery of CHAs. Hospital nurses should receive more training on CHA. Nurses should discuss the potential benefits and risks of CHA with patients.

Family Interventions on Protection of Children from Domestic Violence

Violence is the biggest obstacle for living as a respectable, dignity, equal and free individual and for self-actualization of a child. Children learn to show aggression when, how and against whom. Knowledge is transmitted from parents to children as well as children learn it from peer groups and the mass media. It has become a cycle of violence in this way. In studies on this issue, it was determined that interventions for families (counseling and therapy interventions, crisis and outreach interventions, parenting interventions, and multicomponent interventions) provide developments in behavior problems in children, the level of information related security, anger and violence, selfesteem, conflict management, the psychological distress in families, empathy in parent-child interactions, parenting skills and psychological functioning.

Adaptation of the Scale for Health Promoting Schools to Turkish Society: A Validity and Reliability Study

ABS TRACT Objective: This study is aimed at adapting the “Scale for Health Promoting Schools (SHPS)” to Turkish society in accordance with the directives of the World Health Organization (WHO) for health promoting schools in 1995 and at determining its validity and reliability. Material and Methods: The study was conducted methodologically in the Muratpaşa district of Antalya Province between October 2015 and January 2016. Out of a total of 4350 teachers, 1236 agreed to participate in the study. Two types of socio-demographic characteristics of teachers and SHPS were used. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses (CFA and EFA, respectively) were carried out using a principal component analysis with varimax rotation and Kaiser normalization to test its construct validity. We used Cronbach’s alpha to examine the SHPS’s reliability (internal consistency). Results: The CFA did not confirm the original factor model. EFA was performed in order to determine an applicable factor structure as the second stage of analysis. The Cronbach’s alpha for the total scale was 0.95, and the subscale alpha coefficients ranged from 0.55 to 0.93. The subscales of the scale were redenominated as the school-community relationship and individual health skills, the school’s physical environment, the health policies of the school, health services, the school’s nutrition policies, the health system and class structure, and the disciplinary structure of the school. Conclusion: The SHPS was found to be valid and reliable, and its psychometric characteristics acceptable. SHPS can be used for comprehensively assessing the needs of schools and monitoring the progress of school health interventions.

Chocolate Use and Knowledge in Oral and Dental Health in Children

Dental health and dental caries are important worldwide health issues that are common in childhood. Sugars are the most important dietary etiological cause of dental caries. World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations emphasize the importance of reducing the consumption, frequency, and amount of carbohydrates that could be easily fermented for the prevention of dental caries, which is considered among the chronic degenerative diseases that could be prevented by improving individual lifestyle. Nutrition education for the purposes of reducing caries incidence in children is aimed at informing parents about the importance of reducing dietary exposures to sweet foods and hidden sugars. Implementation of community-based preventive oral health programs focusing on healthy diet and adequate oral hygiene practices should be promoted in schools through integration into the school curriculum and services to combat the growing problem of dental caries among schoolchildren.